Either the Russian people are pro-war, in which case retaliation to defend yourself is good.

Or they are anti-war but helpless to stop it, in which case retaliation to defend yourself is also good.

Either way if your country's existence is threatened and your people are being killed you don't sit back and do nothing because you are scared it'll make the attacker unhappy.

> if your country's existence is threatened and your people are being killed you don't sit back and do nothing because you are scared it'll make the attacker unhappy.

Sure, but there are many different ways of making your attacker unhappy, and some of them might decrease your chances of winning, so you might not want to do those.

Not saying that's the case here (I don't think it is), but the concept is sound.

That has been said for four years. Due to russians using mobile incinerators to conceal causulties (and war crimes), not even caskets arrives home. Most russians know this, but what does it help.